'Troll Bridge' and 'Theatre of Cruelty' – Terry Pratchett


'Troll Bridge' and 'Theatre of Cruelty' can be found in the shorter fiction collection, 'A Blink Of The Screen'.

Terry Pratchett was a big part of my life in the nineties; well, Christmas' anyway where all I wanted to do was read the latest 'Discworld' book (the 'Christmas afternoon James Bond film' never even came close). As time went on, I gradually stopped reading the series (it became more about holding a mirror up to the real world and that wasn't for me) but I've still got a soft spot for the early books and will go back for a re-read every now and then. Anything with Vimes or Rincewind in it mostly ;o) How about you?

I knew there were 'Discworld' short stories, out in the wild, but have only ever come across 'The Sea and Little Fishes' in one of the 'Legends' collections. So when I saw that 'A Blink of the Screen' had a section just for 'Discworld' short stories in it, I was all over it like, well... you know what I mean (I don't have anything, it's been one of those weeks and we're only just into Tuesday...) I figured I'd give 'Troll Bridge' and 'Theatre of Cruelty' a go for no other reason than that they were first up and I didn't want to faff around making a decision (you can tell that I'm properly middle-aged now, can't you?) And it's another 'quick thoughts' post because these stories are very short... Without further ado then, lets go.

The older I get, the more I find that while I'm laughing less at Pratchett's jokes (which is understandable, I've been re-reading his books for years now), I feel like I'm really starting to appreciate him as a storyteller. And I'm not just talking about the commentary (although he does have a lot of cool stuff to say); it's more about how he makes you feel about the people in the stories that he tells. Every one of them is worth spending your hard earned downtime with and that is the mark of someone that I could happily sit and listen to. Pratchett does just that here with 'Troll Bridge' and 'Theatre of Cruelty'.

If you've read the 'Discworld' books then the odds are that you've met Cohen the Barbarian already, I'll wager though that you never seen him quite like this, riding through a Discworld that's almost out of the Old West with frontiers that are growing less wild with monsters (and heroes) that have to move with the times but can't quite let go of the past. And isn't that all of us, really? 'Troll Bridge' has an edge of humour running through it but is mostly (at least from where I was sat) a more thoughtful piece on losing your place in the world and asking yourself how you deal with it. Should you deal with it? That's the question. I also wondered if there was a little commentary on the state of fantasy, not a lot of room left to write something new in, but you'll have to give me a little more time before I make my mind up on that. What we do have in 'Troll Bridge' is a story with plenty to chew on and the ability to make you crack a wry grin, typical Pratchett really ;o)

'Theatre of Cruelty' is a lot more straightforward but at the same time, with a lot more potential to make the reader laugh. I certainly laughed a lot more, especially at Carrot and how he gets hold of his 'star witness', fair play to him.

'Theatre of Cruelty' is essentially a quaint English seaside past time examined under the light of the Discworld and it's true, 'Punch and Judy' is bloody vicious and so are the children who enjoy it. This story also looks at the nature of justice as well, both natural karma and the letter of the laws that we live by. A little understanding, in the right place and time, can go a long way and so it should. Again, plenty to think on and it's all wrapped up in the subtle/no so subtle humour of the dialogue between the men of the Watch. You can't ask for more than that really.

I'll more than likely dip in and out of 'A Blink Of The Screen', as the mood takes me, but 'Troll Bridge' and 'Theatre of Cruelty' were a great place to start. I hope the rest of the book is like that... of course it will be ;o)

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